Strapless brassiere



June 20, 1950 w. RosENTHAL ETAL. 2,512,215-v 'sTRAPu-:ss BRASSIRE FiledAprilylo, 1948 esmas-sheet 1 Patented June 20, 1950 2,512,215 s'raArLEss naAssIEaE William Rosenthal, Bayville, and Ernest Silvani,

Brooklyn, N. Y.,

assignors to Maiden Form Brassiere Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation oi.' New York Application April 10, 1948, Serial No. 20,245

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to brassires and more particularly to improvements in strapless brassires.

An important object of the invention is to provide a novel and advantageous form of strapless brassire.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and advantageous form of brassire inf which each breast-receiving pocket comprises' 'a .fabric assembly supported by suitably arranged Other objects. features and advantages will appear upon consideration of the following detailed description and of the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view showing the front of a brassire in outstretched at form;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the brassire as it would appear -in position on a wearer;

Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2:

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the variously shaped pieces of fabric used in forming the breast-supportingpart at the left of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the inside of the brassire illustrated in Fig. 1, in the form assumed when not in use; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but with the parts in the positions assumed when the brassire is drawn over the breasts of a wearer.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. l and 2, there is illustrated a brassire comprising a front or central portion comprising two breast-supporting parts I0 and II, and connected to the outer' edges thereof. longitudinally elastic back or closure members I2 and I3 with fastening devices at the outer ends thereof. These fastening devices maycomprise hooks I4 at the back faceof the outer end of strap l2 and one or more rows of eyes Il at the front face of an extension or strip II at the outer end.

of strap I3.

Said breast-supporting parts Il and |I at the left and right respectively ofthe center line of the front of the brassire (Figs. 1 and 2). are symmetrical with respect to each other. As indithe left of Fig. 2, is made up of four pieces of body-supporting fabric designated from left to right as I8. I2, 2li and 2|, and an additional four sided member 22 to cooperate with said members Il. I9, 2| and 2| as well as cover a breast from above. Preferably said pieces I8, I9, 20 and 2| are made of soft, pliable and ornamental material such as satin. Said member 22 is diamondshaped and may be made of net material.

The right hand breast-supporting portion (Fig. 2) is made up from left to right of parts 2 Ia, 20a, Isa and Ita whose outlines correspond with parts 2|, 20, I9 and I8 when either side is turned over on the other. 'I'he only diierence would be that the satin surfaces would be on the wrong side for one set, a matter which could be adjusted without difficulty. For example, the patterns could be placed on opposite sides of the cloth, that is on the front face of the cloth for the pieces of part I0 and on the rear face for the pieces of part Il.

The arrangement of the parts in the nished article will now be described.

The adjacent edges of the central pieces 2| and 2 Ia are inturned and are secured together at a seam 23. The outer edges of pieces 2| and 2|a are turned back or inturned and overlie respectively. the adjacent inner edges of parts 20 and 20a and also parts 22 and 22a at their upper and inner edges 24 and 24a. The outer edges of parts 20 and 20a are turned back and secured by stitches 25 and 25a respectively and are connected by crosswise strands 2l and 23a respectively to adjacent inturned inner edges of pieces I9 and 9a which are secured by lines of stitching 21 and 21a.

The upper edges of pieces 20 and I9 are turned in at the back thereof and overlie the lower edges 28 and 29 of member 22 to which they are attached by a line of stitching 30. There is a corresponding arrangement of parts at the right of Fig. 2. The piece Il at the left of Fig. 2, has an infolded inner edge overlying the outer edge of member I9 and the upper edge 3| of member 22, and with its upper end overlying the upper end. of piece 2|. The outer edge of piece I8 is turned in and overlies the inner end of elastic back member I2. There is a corresponding arrangement at the right of Fig. 2.

At the rear of the lower ends of pieces I8, |811., I9, Isa, 2|), 20a, 2| and 2|a, there is a fabric reinforcement, comprising a left central piece 32 (Fig. 2) extending across pieces 20 and 2|; a right central piece 32a extending across pieces cated in Fig. 4, said breast-supporting part Il atA u 2|a and 20a; an end piece 33 extending across pieces I8 and I9 at the left; and an end piece 33a extending across pieces I8a and lila at the right. At their inner edges central pieces 32 and 32a are folded in with the inner edges of pieces 2| and 2|a and all of them are secured together by said seam 23.

The outer edge of said piece 32 reaches the openwork connection comprising the crosswise strands 2E and the end piece 33 extends from said openwork connection to the outer edge of said member I8 in a manner to be described more fully hereinafter. At their adjacent edges pieces 33 and 32 are secured together by a line of stitching 34 which also engages said crosswise strands 2B. There is a similar arrangement at the right of Fig. 2.

The inturned upper edges of the pieces of'said fabric reinforcement curve downwardly from said. center seam 23 to the openwork connection on both sides and then upwardly to the outer edges of said members I8 and |8d. The upper edges of the pieces of said fabric reinforcement are secured to the pieces i8, I9, 2U, 2|, 2Ia, 20a, Ia

and I8a by means of a line of stitching 35. The

curves at the top of said reinforcement cause this part of the garment to fit closely beneath the breasts and to assist in giving the proper shape to the breast-receiving pockets 36 and 36a. As will be brought out hereinafter, the reinforced lower part serves to hold in proper position the lower ends of stays which support and shape the upper part of the brassire including the breastsupporting pockets.

At ane inner face of the front behind the centra seam 23, is a stay 3l which is best shown in Fil and 6. This stay comprises a exible bone r member 38 encased between strips or tape' 29 which project beyond the edges of the boni t should be noted that the strips 39 eX- tend beyond the ends of the bone 38 to facilitate fastening of the ends of the stay. The stay 31 is secured to said pieces 2| and 2|a by lines of stitching 40 which pass through the strips 39 close the edges of bone 38.

Back of the overlapping parts at the outer edge of piece 2|, is located a stay 4| which, by lines of stitches 42 is connected to pieces 20, 2| and 22. Back of the overlapping parts at the inner edge of piece I8, a stay 43 is connected to pieces I8, I9 and 22 by lines of stitching 44. At the opposite side of center seam 23 there is a similar arrangement with stay 4|a secured in position by lines of stitches 42a, stay 43a secured by lines of stitches 44a. Furthermore a stay 45 is secured by stitches 46 to the overlapped parts of piece I8 and elastic back member I2. Correspondingly a stay 45a is secured by stitches 48a to the overlapped parts of piece I8 and elastic back member i3.

The upper edges of parts I8, 2|, 2|a and I8a are turned back, and provided with edging 41 at the rear and a strip or tape 48. Then a line of stitches 49 is formed to secure said edging and the upper edge of the tape in place. Also the lower edge of the tape 48 is secured by a line of stitches 50.

The lower edges of parts I8, I9, 20, 2|, 2id, a, I9a and I8a are turned back and up, and the lower edge of a binding tape 5| is secured thereto by a line of stitches E2 passing below the lower ends of the bones in the stays. At the inner face of said binding tape 5| is placed a fold of cushioning material 53 such as plush, with the folded edge extending beyond the lower edge of the brassire proper. The upper edge of the tape and the upper edges of the folded plush are then fastened to the main structure by a linev of stitching I4 which is discontinued at the bones. Obviously the cushioning material tends to prevent discomfort caused by pressure of the lower edge of the brassire against the nesh of the wearer.

The parts I8, I8, 20, 2|, 2m, 20a, |9a, |841, 22 and 22a at the front of the brassire are so shaped and assembled thatabove the seam or stitches there is much greater fullness than in the lower reinforced portion which in eeot constitutes a band to be drawn closely around the body of a wearer and to hold the lower parts oi various stays in position. The end stays 135 and 45a tend to distribute the pull of the elastic members I2 and I3 on the front of the brassire.

Preferably the stays 43 and 43a are somewhat stronger than stays 4i and 4|a respectively and tend to effect suitable separation of the breasts when placed therein.

As vclearly illustrated in Figs. l and 5, the two intermediate stays of each breast-supporting part are, when the brassire is not in use, straight and take up fullness from top to bottom while producing the greatest transverse fullness. When, however, the brassire is fastened around the body, the intermediate stays are (Figs. 2 and 6) drawn out sidewise to take up the transverse fullness to fit over the breast and to lower the upper edge of the brassire to -give support beneath the breast and to position the net portion over the breast. Of course there is also some bending of the central stay 31 and the edge stays 45 and 45a as the brassire is adjusted on the body. As indicated in Fig. 6, there is considerable downward pressure on the upper ends of the intermediate stays.

It should be understood that various changes may be made and that certain features may be used without others, Without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A strapless brassire comprising a fabric front provided with two breast pockets and an intermediate fabric portion having a V-shaped top separating major areas of the breast pockets, of a stay secured to and centrally of said intermediate fabric portion, each breast pocket being fulled, a lower band-like member having two curved upper margins each of which bounds the lower margin of one breast pocket, a pair of stays for and laterally bounding each breast pocket fulled portion and extending across and secured to the said lower band-like area, the stays of each of said pairs of stays converging from their lower ends to an upper point at which they substantially meet in inverted V-formation and with like 4upward projection of the breast pocket fabric tops, back bands each secured to one side of an appropriate one of the two breast pockets, means for connecting the back bands, and a stay secured adjacent the juncture of each back band and its appropriate breast pocket and extending across and secured to said lower back band member, said pairs of inverted V-positioned stays being flexible and adapted upon pull 'of the bnassire around the body of a wearer to spread apart at the intermediate breast pocket areas with lowering of the upwardly projected tops of the breast pockets, as and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM ROSENTHAL. ERNEST SILVANI.

` (References on following page) REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recorvd in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,239,056 Schiffer Apr. 22, 1941 2,267,595 McKeefrey Dec. 23, 1941 2,406,893 Nunn Sept. 3, 1946 Number Number 

